Monday Bunker: NRL round 10 talking points from every weekend clash
THE South Sydney Rabbitohs have become one of the competition’s most talked about teams while a mauling by Manly shows what Brisbane are missing. Our team of rugby league writers analyse the NRL’s Round 10 talking points.
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WITH Round 10 of the competition now done and dusted, our team of rugby league writers analyse the NRL’s talking points in the Monday Bunker.
CLEARY REUNION THE TIGERS’ FINAL PIECE
WESTS TIGERS 20 COWBOYS 12: JT’s Sydney hoodoo continues
HOW greatly would Nathan Cleary bolster Wests Tigers?
Given the rising Penrith halfback was in the Leichhardt Oval crowd for this one — and comes head-to-head with the team coached by his old man in Thursday Night Football — the question is impossible to ignore.
Indeed, there is no doubting Cleary would like to play for dad Ivan, who doubles as Tigers head coach.
It’s also a given that plenty of NRL coaches — including the one who knows his game best — would welcome the addition of a playmaker who, at 20, is currently being hailed the future of NSW Origin football.
And with the young Panther off contract at the end of next year ... well, talk is only going to grow until he puts pen to paper with someone.
And while we wait, how good another Cleary Family showdown.
Last year, it was Nathan who got the win.
Even kicked a goal from the sideline, right in front of the Tigers coaching box.
But this week? Who knows?
Undoubtedly, his addition will be welcomed by a Panthers club stretched to breaking point by injuries.
And still, they keep winning anyway.
So how greatly, now, will the addition of Cleary bolster them?
— Nick Walshaw
PANTHERS PRODUCE TO PRESS PREMIERSHIP CLAIMS
KNIGHTS 18 PANTHERS 29: Crafty Maloney outwits Newcastle
FRIDAY night’s clash between Penrith and Newcastle made a couple of things clear.
First, the Panthers have legit premiership clout considering the performances they can produce under some serious injury pressure.
Knights coach Nathan Brown described James Maloney as a serial winner after the game and it’s his leadership that is keeping the team together.
His control on Friday led the Panthers to a convincing win in the end and with Nathan Cleary returning next round good luck to those who face them in the coming weeks.
That leads to the second point. What Penrith have in Maloney, Newcastle are missing with Mitchell Pearce sidelined.
There were flashes of what the Knights can do on Friday but with their fifth different halves pairing this season the timing is a bit off.
And with no cool head, on-field discipline hurt them at crucial times, points even going begging.
Consistency can only come with consistency in player selection so there is hope the Knights can add some more wins during the Pearceless period, but the younger squad members need to step up and grow up fast.
— Fiona Bollen
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE FOR EELS
BULLDOGS 20 EELS 12: Parra players brought to tears after loss
BRAD Arthur nailed it with his post-match comment that the time for talk is over for Parramatta.
Now it is time for doing, although it is probably too late.
It’s hard to see the Eels fighting back to make the play-offs given they have only won two from 10 matches so far and from here they need to win at least 10 of their remaining 14 games.
In fact, that would only get them to 26 competition points.
So actually they might need to win as many as 12 or 13 games to guarantee a finals spot.
It’s just about impossible.
Before the season kicked off the Eels were rated one of the genuine chances to win this title on the back of last year’s fourth placed finish and some impressive trial form.
But as it stands they sit dead last and their season is already on life support.
They have only themselves to blame for the predicament they are in given the talent they are blessed with across the park.
On Friday night again the Eels were their own worst enemies as they fumbled and bumbled their way to their eighth defeat of the season.
They looked far more dangerous than the Bulldogs but just didn’t have the patience to grind out the victory.
In their very first set of the match Manu Ma’u gave up a simple knock on and that pretty much set the tone.
There was another period midway through the first half when the Eels were handed three straight penalties.
Yet despite turning their back on a gift two points they went for the try and turned over the ball on an early tackle with another all-or-nothing play.
While it is a discipline issue across the park, ultimately, those in charge of managing the game are the halves.
At the start of the year Arthur came out publicly challenged Mitchell Moses and Corey Norman to “own the team” but aside from a couple of good performances they have been thoroughly disappointing.
Their lack of patience and discipline is reflected throughout the team.
— Paul Crawley
CAN THE ROOSTERS BACK IT UP?
WARRIORS 0 ROOSTERS 32: Cronk, JWH spark electric triumph
THE Roosters produced their best performance of the season by some distance in their 32-0 brutalising of the Warriors in New Zealand.
The forwards were terrific, from start to finish, with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves having his best game in many years; Dylan Napa didn’t have the stats but certainly brought the impact.
Cooper Cronk and James Tedesco made more errors than they would have liked but both of them had more good touches than bad. Latrell Mitchell finally got involved on a semi-regular basis, and even though he didn’t get on the score sheet it was a banner day for the strike centre.
But of course, we’ve said this all before haven’t we?
The first win over Canterbury, the Newcastle hammering, the win over Cronulla - we’ve seen the Roosters put teams to the sword and everyone who tipped them for premiership honours has climbed to the mountain top and called out “Yes! They have clicked! It is happening! Praise be to Uncle Nick!”.
The problem for the Roosters isn’t turning it on for one week, it’s doing it again and again and again.
They’re yet to win three games in a row this season amid their highly publicised attacking struggles - their forwards have proven they can rise to a high level, but staying there for an extended period is another matter entirely.
But if they can do it, if the forwards can play like this every week then all the rest will come. And for all the talk around the Roosters underperforming, they’re 6-4 and a win off second spot.
A win over the battling Broncos on Friday night is well within their capabilities and will go even further to banishing their uneven opening to the year.
— Nick Campton
TEST LOOMS FOR NRL JUDICIARY AFTER SMITH CHARGE
STORM 28 TITANS 14: Smith in strife as Melbourne triumph
THE NRL judiciary could be facing a massive test after Storm captain Cameron Smith was charged for a “wishbone” tackle.
Smith, the most powerful player in the game, is facing a one-to-two match suspension after being hit with a grade two dangerous contact charge.
Smith was involved in an awkward tackle which left Titans forward Kevin Proctor with a groin injury.
Smith proclaimed his innocence after the game, claiming he did not intentionally injure Proctor and the incident was more awkward that malicious.
A host of former NRL players, including Gorden Tallis and Ryan Girdler, slammed the charge and urged Smith to fight it.
Smith could also plead guilty but contest the grading of the charge in the hope of securing a downgrade to face Manly at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
The Smith tackle was ugly and the fact it left Proctor with an injury that forced him from the field further highlighted the problem.
If Smith fights the charge, the judiciary has a big decision to make in regards to player safety.
Proctor should not have suffered a groin injury because of a tackle where his legs were spread apart.
— Travis Meyn
MANLY MAULING SHOWS WHAT BRONCOS ARE MISSING
SEA EAGLES 38 BRONCOS 24: More pain for beaten Brisbane
IT is time for Wayne Bennett to bite the bullet and go to the market and find an elite halfback.
The Broncos won’t win the competition this year with a scrumbase alliance of Anthony Milford and Kodi Nikorima.
The duo are individually dangerous but the Broncos’ dismal 38-24 loss to Manly on Saturday night is proof neither has the authority or game sense to consistently steer Brisbane around the park.
Manly halfback Daly Cherry-Evans was sensational and gave the pair a masterclass in how to control a game.
Brisbane’s other problem is their lack of midfield dominance, which is putting further pressure on Milford and Nikorima to play behind a beaten pack.
The Sea Eagles towelled them up around the rucks and unless Brisbane start to hunt as a forward unit, they will be battling to scrape into the bottom half of the top eight.
Having snapped their five-game losing streak, Manly finally buried their Gladstone saga and still have quality in the right areas to make the finals.
Cherry-Evans is a class act and in Jake Trbojevic, the Sea Eagles have a pure Trojan who inspires troops with his sheer workrate. Both deserve to be in the Origin arena this season.
— Peter Badel
SEIBOLD’S TROOPS ARE THE REAL DEAL
RABBITOHS 24 DRAGONS 10: Bunnies prove they’re true contenders
FOR the first time all season, the Dragons went away from the things that worked for them.
They were flat outplayed in their loss to the Warriors, but this time around they could not get the forward dominance they enjoyed for much of the season, they abandoned the attacking principles that propelled them to premiership favouritism and they looked sloppy in all departments.
Part of this was because of the play from the Rabbitohs. The Dragons couldn’t adapt to the suffocating line speed the Bunnies pulled out when defending their own line and an injury to Ben Hunt limited what attack they could provide.
Being able to adapt to the situations any given match demands is an important part of a team ascending to title contention and the Dragons will no doubt take many lessons from this defeat.
For South Sydney, it is yet another suggestion they could be something close to the real deal this year.
Anthony Seibold has done a marvellous job revamping the club’s attack and reviving players who looked on the way out of the NRL.
Damien Cook and Cody Walker have emerged as the two most dominant attacking players on the team, which perfectly suits the forward pack Seibold has put together.
Just as impressive was the Rabbitohs defence, which conceded just one try from a loose ball and one in garbage time. From these two pillars, much can be built.
Every team aims for the top eight at the top of the season, but the Rabbitohs are approaching the point where they may lift their gaze a little higher.
— Nick Campton
DON’T BE FOOLED, CRONULLA ARE CONTENDERS
RAIDERS 16 SHARKS 24: Phenomenal Fifita teases NSW after gutsy win
THE Sharks are flying under the radar and can’t be discounted in 2018.
Cronulla’s forward pack has been decimated through injury with Luke Lewis, Paul Gallen, Wade Graham, Scott Sorensen and Jason Bukuya on the sidelines, yet they still escaped with a courageous 24-16 win over the Raiders in their own backyard.
Andrew Fifita has shown his leadership credentials in the absence of his more senior forward counterparts, playing increased minutes and kickstarting the side’s attack off the back of a barrage of offloads.
The monster prop played the entire 80 against Canberra, running 19 times for 175m to go with a quiet 51 tackles.
Adding to Cronulla’s impressive depth is back-rower Jack Williams who scored a vital try on debut against his former club Canberra.
Williams, 21, has bided his time after starring at both U20s and NSW Cup level for several years.
The wait was worth it for the versatile forward, who was fortunate to make his debut just over an hour away from his hometown of Cooma.
The win in the nation’s capital will have Shane Flanagan optimistic of the club’s title credentials.
Their four losses have been respectable with two coming against the unbeaten Dragons, and the others against the Cowboys away and a stellar Roosters roster.
That’s now four wins on the trot—- including the Titans away and high-flying Panthers—- and without the brunt of their pack on show.
With the likes of Josh Dugan, Matt Moylan, Jayden Brailey and Chad Townsend yet to gel as a new-look spine, the side are a team on the up.
In time they’ll click as an attacking unit ensuring the men from the Shire could again have a strong presence in September football.
— Tim Williams